Special  China  Bulletin 


Number  Three 

M'liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilliMWiiliiiM 


| The  Call  of  the  Hour 

A Sermon  preached  in  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church 

Neiv  York  City 

Sunday  Mornwg,  April  27 \ 1913 

Rev.  WILLIAM  PIERSON  MEjRJULL,  D.D. 

Biigiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia  

Board  of  Foreign  Missions  gjg 

Presbyterian  Cburch  in  the  U.  S.  A. 

= 156  Fifth  Arenue,  New  York 


CABLEGRAM 


Sent  by  Edward  T.  Williams 

Charge  d’affaires  of  the  American  Legation,  Peking 


To  the  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 

“Secretary  of  State  Peking,  April  17th,  1913 

Washington,  D.  C. 

The  following  message  adopted  by  the  Cabinet  was  sent  yesterday  by 
the  Chinese  Government  to  the  provincial  authorities  and  leaders  of  the 
Christian  churches  in  China : 

‘Prayer  is  requested  for  the  National  Assembly  now  in  session ; for  the  new  Govern- 
ment; for  the  President  who  is  to  be  elected  ; for  the  Constitution  of  the  Republic;  that  the 
Government  may  be  recognized  by  the  powers;  that  peace  may  reign  within  our  country; 
that  strong  and  virtuous  men  may  be  elected  to  office  and  that  the  Government  may  be 
established  upon  a strong  foundation. 

Upon  receipt  of  this  telegram  you  are  requested  to  notify  all  churches  in  your  province 
that  April  27th  has  been  set  apart  as  a day  of  prayer  for  the  nation.  Let  us  take  part.’ 

WILLIAMS” 

April  2 7th,  1913,  was  observed  throughout  the  Christian  world  as  a day 
of  prayer  for  China. 


The  Call  of  the  Hour 

John  12:23 


“ The  hour  is  come , that  the 
Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified 


THESE  words  come  to  us  out  of  a scene  in  the  distant  past.  I do  not  say 
the  dim  past ; for  whatever  may  be  true  of  other  facts,  the  fact  of  the 
death  of  the  Son  of  Man  for  the  sin  of  the  world  shines  forth  from  the 
history  of  the  world’s  life  with  a growing  rather  than  a diminishing  radiance. 

“ All  the  light  of  sacred  story 
Gathers  round  its  head  sublime.” 


The  greatest  fact  in  the  life  of  man  on  the  earth  is  the  death  of  the  Son 
of  Man.  No  scene  can  be  more  powerful,  more  vital,  than  this,  when  our 
Lord  stands  facing  the  cross,  and,  deep  in  His  soul,  feels  that  it  is  worth 
while;  there  lies  His  glory;  and,  with  joy  and  pain  meeting  in  a sublime 
exaltation  of  spirit,  He  cries  “ The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be 
glorified.” 

But  the  words  come  to  us  today  with  more  than  the  dignity  and  grandeur 
derived  from  a long-distant  past,  with  more  even  than  the  weight  of  richness 
which  they  have  gathered  through  the  years.  They  come  with  the  ring  of 
present,  vital  meaning;  they  are  now  the  words,  not  of  the  Master, but  of  His 
church  ; rather  let  us  say,  they  are  the  words,  not  of  the  Christ  who  walked 
the  streets  of  Jerusalem  long  ago,  but  of  the  Christ  who  lives  and  loves  to-day. 
He  says  to  us,  — not  of  that  past  hour,  but  of  this  present  hour,  — “The 
hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified.” 

For  there  has  come  to  the  church  to-day,  the  body  of  Christ,  just  such 
an  experience  as  came  to  our  Lord  Jesus  on  this,  the  third  day  before  His 
death.  Do  you  recall  the  scene?  He  has  been  teaching  His  followers,  meeting 
the  attacks  of  His  enemies,  talking  with  the  crowd  that  surges  through  the 

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courts  of  the  Temple.  And  now  two  of  His  disciples  approach  with  the  word 
that  some  Gentiles  desire  to  see  Him.  Instantly  there  springs  up  in  His  heart 
that  great  love  for  the  world,  for  the  whole  race  of  man,  which  He  has  felt 
compelled  to  repress,  that  He  may  do  the  needed  work  for  Israel,  and  not 
wreck  His  mighty  mission  by  moving  too  fast.  How  hard  it  must  have  been 
to  confine  His  efforts  and  His  words  to  His  own  land  and  race.  I imagine  no 
words  ever  came  from  Him  more  reluctantly  than  the  saying,  “ 1 am  not  sent 
but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.”  But  now  from  the  far-reach- 
ing outer  world,  unsought  as  yet  by  Him,  come  men  seeking  Him.  With 
“ joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  ” He  lifts  His  eyes  from  the  things  that  lie 
at  His  feet  and  lets  them  rest  on  the  far  horizon.  In  this  request  of  a few 
Gentiles  He  hears  the  stroke  of  a new  and  glorious  hour.  The  time  has  come 
when  the  Son  of  Man  must  be  glorified ; and,  in  the  light  of  that  glory, 
death  itself  appears  but  a dark  valley  to  be  passed  before  the  glory  shall 
come. 

1 am  sure  all  who  are  here  are  aware  of  the  very  remarkable  action  of 
the  Chinese  Government,  in  writing  and  telegraphing  to  the  Christians  of  that 
nation  asking  them  to  set  apart  this  day,  April  27th,  as  a day  of  prayer  for 
the  Republic.  I am  sure  the  hearts  of  all  true  Christians  have  beat  faster  at 
the  news.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  us  have  caught  its  full  significance.  It 
can  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  Something  has  come, — 1 will  not  say  “has 
happened,”  for  God’s  leading  is  too  manifest  in  it  for  such  a word  to  be 
appropriate, — something  has  come,  in  the  religious  life  of  man,  which  has 
never  been  known  before.  Under  a divine  impulse,  following  the  lead  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  Christianity  has  gone  out  to  all  the  world,  seeking  men,  daring 
to  take  as  its  program  the  conversion  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  into  the 

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Kingdom  of  our  Lord.  But  now,  for  the  first  time,  a nation  not  yet  Christian 
has  definitely  asked  the  prayers  of  Christians ; and  the  action  has  been  taken 
so  simply,  with  such  absolute  directness,  such  utter  lack  of  artifice,  as  to  disarm 
all  suspicion  of  hidden  motives,  or  adroit  attempts  to  influence  the  political 
action  of  the  Christian  nations. 

1 am  fortunately  able  to  give  you  the  very  wording  of  the  message 
sent  by  the  Chinese  Government  to  all  the  Provinces  of  the  Republic,  and  to 
every  Chinese  city  in  which  there  is  a body  of  Christians : 

“Prayer  is  requested  for  the  National  Assembly  now  in  session;  for  the  new  Government; 
for  the  President  who  is  to  be  elected;  for  the  Constitution  of  the  Republic:  that  the  Govern- 
ment may  be  recognized  by  the  Powers;  that  peace  may  reign  within  our  country;  that 
strong  and  virtuous  men  may  be  elected  to  office;  and  that  the  Government  may  be  establish- 
ed upon  a strong  foundation.  Upon  receipt  of  this  telegram  you  are  requested  to  notify  all 
churches  in  your  Province  that  April  27th  has  been  set  aside  as  a day  of  prayer  for  the 
Nation:  let  us  take  part.” 


Am  1 making  too  much  of  this  matter  when  1 say  that  it  means,  in  the 
life  of  the  church,  what  the  visit  of  these  Greeks  meant  in  the  life  of  Jesus  ? 
We  recall  the  long  and  weary  years  during  which  faithful  men  labored  and 
apparently  made  not  the  slightest  impression  upon  the  impassive  and  immobile 
civilization  and  people  of  China.  Morrison  “ against  hope  believed  in  hope,” 
keeping  up  his  faith  only  because  he  believed  in  the  Living  God,  with  whom 
nothing  is  impossible.  Down  to  some  fifteen  years  ago,  China  was  considered 
the  stronghold  of  paganism.  It  is  but  a few  years  since  the  Boxer  movement 
threatened  to  drive  the  foreigners  and  their  missions  out  of  the  Empire.  And 
now,  Christians  are  in  the  Cabinet,  and  in  the  recently  elected  National 

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Assembly ; the  Provisional  President  is  a man  of  pronounced  Christian  sym- 
pathies, who  said,  last  autumn,  to  a group  of  Christians,  “ 1 am  not  a Christian, 
but  I admire  the  wonderful  teachings  of  Christianity,  and  am  trying  to  live  by 
them,”  and  who,  some  years  ago,  issued  a “ Primer  of  Christianity,”  that  the 
Chinese  people  might  have  a more  intelligent  and  sympathetic  idea  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus.  And  this  Government  now  sends  a request  for  prayer,  not 
to  the  priests  and  temples  of  its  ancient  faiths,  but  to  the  Christians  alone,  as 
if  recognizing  in  them  the  vital  religious  power  of  the  nation  to-day. 

What  does  this  mean  ? We  must  be  careful  not  to  assume  that  it  means 
the  speedy  conversion  of  the  Chinese  people  to  the  Christian  religion.  It  may 
mean  that,  There  are  peculiar  and  powerful  contacts  between  the  ancient 
religions  of  the  Chinese  and  Christianity.  Many  of  their  traditional  customs 
are  similar  to  those  which  prevailed  among  the  Hebrews.  A group  of  Chinese 
students  told  me  last  summer  of  the  absorbed  interest  with  which  they  read  in 
the  law  of  Moses  that  the  Hebrews  were,  at  a certain  season,  to  fasten  to  the 
door  of  the  house  a bunch  of  hyssop,  and  to  sprinkle  blood  above  it.  Said 
they,  “We  and  our  fathers  have  been,  for  centuries  past,  at  a certain  time  in 
the  year,  nailing  on  the  door  of  the  house  a bunch  of  grass  and  above  it  a bit 
of  red  paper,  which,  we  were  told,  represents  blood.”  And  this,  they  said, 
was  but  one  of  many  customs  analogous  to  what  they  found  in  the  Old 
Testament.  “ Why  should  not  our  religion  be  to  us  just  as  truly  a school- 
master, leading  us  up  to  the  truth  in  Christ,  as  the  religion  of  the  Jews  was 
to  them  ? ” they  asked  eagerly.  The  ethics  of  Confucius  are,  in  large  part, 
pure  and  lofty.  Taoism,  the  ancient  religion  of  the  Chinese,  means  “ the 
way  ” and  is  largely  a way  of  life,  a system  of  morality.  The  tolerant  and 
sympathetic  attitude  of  the  modern  missionary,  who  is  eager  to  discover 

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the  elements  and  germs  of  truth  already  in  the  Chinese  mind  and  soul, 
helps  to  make  the  approach  to  Christianity  more  natural.  Even  customs 
which  formerly  seemed  heathenish  are  now  seen  to  be  not  wholly  incompatible 
with  the  Christian  faith.  One  of  the  Chinese  students  to  whom  1 have 
referred  was  the  grand-daughter  of  a famous  general,  whose  memorial  tablet 
was  erected  in  a public  hall  in  recognition  of  his  distinguished  services.  “Have 
you  given  up  your  visits  and  offerings  to  the  tablet  of  your  grand-father  since 
you  became  a Christian  ? ” she  was  asked.  “ No  ; why  should  1 ? Do  not 
Christians  erect  tablets  and  stones  to  their  loved  ones,  and  on  certain  days 
visit  them  and  put  flowers  there  ? 1 am  careful  to  explain  that  1 am  not 

worshipping  my  grand-father,  simply  honoring  his  memory  ; but  on  the  set 
days  1 go  and  honor  him,  and  thank  God  for  what  he  was.” 

It  is  then  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  the  Chinese  have  less  to  leave 
behind,  a more  easy  transition  to  make  in  becoming  Christians,  than  almost 
any  other  race.  Their  religions  are  systems  of  ethics  rather  than  of  faith ; 
and  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  not  so  much  supplant  as  purify, 
modify,  and  vitalize  the  religious  life  of  the  earnest  people  of  China. 

Yet,  while  there  is  thus  in  the  religious  conditions  much  on  which  to  base 
a hope  that  the  conversion  of  the  Chinese  may  be  speedy  and  complete, 
and  while  the  Christian  is  always  justified  in  expecting  great  things  from  God, 
still  the  message  brought  to  us  by  this  call  to  prayer  is  no  easy  assurance  that 
China  will  speedily  be  Christian.  It  is  very  much  more  solemn,  more  search- 
ing, more  personal,  than  that.  “The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man  should 
be  glorified.”  If  we,  calling  ourselves  Christians,  have  in  us  anything  of  the 
Christ -spirit,  even  so  much  as  a grain  of  mustard  seed,  our  souls  will  be  stirred 
as  was  His  soul  when  the  Greeks  asked  to  see  Him,  stirred  to  a deeper  realiza. 

8 


don  of  the  mission  on  which  God  sends  us,  and  of  the  consecration  it  demands. 
It  was  immediately  after  these  words  that  our  Lord  uttered  the  great  saying, 
“Except  a grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone;  but  if 
it  die  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit.”  God  help  us  to  hear  in  this  call  of  an  un- 
Christian  people  for  Christian  prayer  a summons  to  such  a devoted,  self- 
sacrificing  religion  as  we  have  never  shown  or  known. 

The  people  of  China  are  reaching  out  their  hands  for  the  very  religion 
you  and  1 are  professing.  Are  you  going  to  fail  them  ? It  is  not  a question 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity  in  the  abstract,  of  the  power  and  love  of  God. 
We  believe  all  that  to  be  true.  But  the  Christianity  that  will  minister  the 
grace  of  God  to  the  needy  and  longing  world  is  your  Christianity  and  mine. 

“By  all  ye  will,  or  whisper, 

By  all  ye  leave,  or  do; 

The  silent,  sullen  peoples 
Will  judge  your  God  and  you.” 

It  is  time  every  Christian,  every  dweller  in  a Christian  community, 
startled  in  his  careless  walk  by  this  cry  for  spiritual  help,  should  ask  himself, 
“What  have  / to  give  ? How  much  good  would  it  do  the  people  of  China  to 
have  such  a Christian  faith  and  life  as  / possess?” 

As  never  before  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  religion,  “the  hour  is  come 
that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified.”  That  means  that  Christians  must 
pitch  their  religious  life,  their  faith,  their  consecration,  very  high.  We  must 
lift  Jesus  Christ  up  from  the  earth,  you  and  I,  the  whole  church,  the  whole 
body  of  believers  in  Him;  we  must  humble  ourselves,  and  bend  our  backs,  and 
give  our  strength,  to  set  Him  where  He  can  be  seen  and  felt  around  the  globe. 
It  is  not  for  low  places,  but  from  the  heights,  that  the  electrical  energy  of 

9 


His  faith  and  life  can  throb  so  mightily  that  the  watchers  on  that  distant  shore 
can  catch  the  message. 

It  is  not  alone  China  that  is  calling  us.  1 cannot  and  must  not  begin  to 
mention  the  calls  that  come  to  us  to-day  from  our  own  land  and  from  every 
land.  The  whole  world  is  crying  out  its  one  great  need,  and  this  is  it, — that 
Christians  shall  be  real  and  thorough-going,  that  we  cease  playing  at  being 
religious  and  begin  to  look  at  our  mission  as  Jesus  saw  His.  China  and  her 
call  for  prayer  is  but  the  most  outstanding  figure,  the  most  unique  and  dramatic 
voice  in  the  great  chorus  of  need  and  longing  that  cries  out  to  the  church,  “O 
men  and  women  who  say  you  believe  in  Christ,  make  your  religion  real ! Lift 
it  up  ! Climb  to  the  new  heights  of  vision,  devotion,  and  achievement ! The 
age  demands  not  little  things,  but  miracles , and  you  must  work  them.  The 
hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified.” 

1 want  to  direct  the  force  of  this  message  to  two  special  groups.  It  comes 
first  to  those  who  in  their  hearts  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  but  have  never  made 
definite  public  confession  of  that  faith.  And  it  asks  of  each,  “ Is  it  not  time 
you  helped  to  glorify  the  Son  of  Man  by  avowing  yourself  His  follower  ? ” 

It  is  true  that  church-membership  is  only  an  outward  form,  and  that  true 
confession  of  faith  in  Christ  is  a deep,  far  reaching  matter  of  the  whole  life. 
But  it  is  true  also  that  the  outward  form  is  important;  men  see  that,  and  by  it 
they  interpret  the  spirit  within.  And  the  hour  is  come,  now,  when  all  who 
believe  in  Christ  should  take  their  places  in  His  church. 

I am  heartily  glad  that  I can  say  to  all  here,  and  to  all  the  world,  that 
absolutely  nothing  is  demanded  of  one  who  would  become  a member  of  the 
church  save  a real  and  practical  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  the  glory 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  that  it  asks  nothing  more  of  those  who  would  be 

10 


its  members  than  Christ  asks  of  those  who  would  be  His  followers.  1 beg  of 
you,  cast  away,  once  and  for  all  time,  the  mistaken  notion  that  a confession 
of  faith  means  a confession  of  theology.  What  the  church  asks  of  you  in 
order  to  membership  is  not  that  you  merely  hold  certain  intellectual  positions; 
it  is  that,  in  your  heart,  you  believe  in  God,  His  love,  His  work  in  the  world,  and 
in  Jesus  Christ  the  Saviour,  His  Kingdom,  His  power,  His  mission  ; and  that 
with  a faith  not  of  the  mind  only,  but  even  more  of  the  heart  and  the  will 
and  the  life.  Will  you  side  with  spirit  against  flesh,  with  God  against  the 
world,  with  love  against  force,  with  the  cross  against  crowns  and  shows,  with 
eternal  life  and  not  with  shams,  with  Jesus  rather  than  with  His  enemies  ? 
And  will  you  put  your  soul  into  that  choice?  That  is  all  we  ask.  Has  not 
the  hour  come  when  you,  who  silently  cherish  that  choice  in  your  heart,  can 
glorify  your  Lord  by  an  open  avowal  ? 

It  does  count  for  very  much,  that  open  avowal.  Just  a week  ago  the 
will  of  a remarkable  and  powerful  man  was  made  public.  He  was  a man  who 
believed  in  deeds  rather  than  in  words.  But  nothing  that  he  did  ever  lifted 
up  and  glorified  the  Lord  in  whom  he  believed  more  effectively  than  did  the 
solemn  and  direct  words  in  which,  dealing  with  his  great  possessions,  he  first 
committed  his  soul  in  faith  to  its  Saviour,  and  gave  to  his  family  as  its  great- 
est treasure  the  service  of  God  and  the  defence  of  the  Christian  faith.  Honest 
avowal  of  faith  is  a mighty  means  of  glorifying  the  Lord  in  whom  you 
believe.  Ask  yourself,  I beseech  you,  if  the  hour  has  not  come  for  you  to 
confess  the  faith  of  your  heart  and  enter  the  ranks  of  Christ’s  open  and 
avowed  followers  ? 

But  the  call  of  this  great  hour  comes  with  equal  force  to  all  of  us  who 
have  confessed  our  faith,  and  are  enrolled  as  members  of  the  church  of  Christ. 

11 


To  us  the  message  is,  Rise  to  a new  pitch  of  loyalty  and  devotion.  This  is 
no  ordinary  time,  when  we  can  well  be  content  with  little  loyalties,  and  modest 
sacrifices,  and  smooth-running  religious  experiences.  God  has  counted  us 
worthy  of  being  Christians  in  a critical  time.  Upon  us,  as  upon  no  men 
since  the  words  were  spoken,  “ the  ends  of  the  ages  have  met.”  To  fail  now 
is  as  if  Paul  had  failed,  or  Luther,  or  Wesley,  or  Carey,  or  Livingstone.  Our 
Lord  is  asking  His  church,  “ Can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the  times  ? ” For 
years  prophets  have  been  telling  us  that  a new  day  was  at  hand.  Lonely 
voices  they  were  at  first,  crying  through  the  dark.  But  now  the  dullest  eyes 
can  see  the  dawn  breaking.  It  is  here,  the  new  day  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
If  we,  who  are  Christians,  make  our  religion  real,  dominant,  sacrificial,  if  we 
follow  our  Lord  with  such  loyalty  and  consecration  and  simplicity  as  the  time 
demands,  the  world  that  cries  out  for  the  grace  of  God  will  not  cry  out  in 
vain.  We  must  not  draw  back,  or  grow  weary,  or  withhold.  Our  whole 
souls,  and  all  they  possess,  must  turn  to  God  and  to  His  work.  The  hour  is 
come  that  we  should  show,  in  our  local  church,  in  the  work  of  our  denomi- 
nation in  city,  and  nation,  and  world,  in  the  still  larger  interests  of  the  King- 
dom of  God,  a Christian  faith,  loyalty  and  devotion  such  as  alone  can  glorify 
the  Son  of  Man  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  that  needs  Him. 

These  are  plain  words;  and  1 know  full  well  that  those  who  need  them 
least  will  feel  them  most  keenly.  1 am  not  urging  upon  anyone  unqualifiedly 
that  he  confess  his  faith,  or  that  he  lift  his  life  to  a new  level  of  Christian  con- 
secration. “God  alone  is  Lord  of  conscience.”  1 know  there  are  many  whose 
reasons  for  keeping  their  faith  unconfessed  in  words  are  righteous  and  conclu- 
sive; 1 would  not,  if  1 could,  put  an  atom  of  pressure  upon  such  souls.  1 
know, — God  forbid  that  1 should  ever  be  unmindful  of  it, — how  many  of  the 

12 


members  of  this  church  are  already  revealing  in  their  lives  a loyalty,  a con- 
secration, a willingness  to  give  and  spend  and  work,  which  is  worthy  even  of 
the  present  great  and  critical  hour.  But  there  is  no  one  of  us  who  may  not 
well  put  to  his  inmost  soul  the  searching  question,  “Is  my  religion  as  true,  as 
far-going,  as  loyal,  as  sacrificial,  as  Christ  has  a right  to  expect  it  to  be  in  this 
crucial  hour?” 

There  was  a little  couplet  much  in  use  ten  years  ago  : 

“What  kind  of  a church  would  our  church  be, 

If  every  member  were  just  like  me?” 

Call  it  simple,  childish,  doggerel,  if  you  will.  But  there  is  in  it  some- 
thing that  claims  the  attention  of  your  soul,  a righteous  demand  you  cannot 
evade.  Is  it  not  the  deep  and  sacred  duty  of  every  one  of  us  to  be  such  a 
Christian  that,  if  every  member  of  Christ’s  church  were  like  us,  the  church 
would  be  equal  to  its  task?  May  we  not  well  ask,  each  of  himself,  “Is  that 
what  I am?  Would  the  interest  of  Christ’s  Kingdom  be  safe  and  strong,  here 
in  our  church,  and  through  the  world,  if  my  Christianity  were  the  prevailing 
type?”  And  what  right  have  I to  live  on  any  lower  level  of  service  and 
sacrifice  than  that  which  the  call  of  Christ  and  the  needs  of  His  work  demand 
of  every  Christian. 

May  the  God  of  all  grace  make  us  worthy  of  this  day,  of  this  hour.  It  is 
glorious  to  live  and  work  in  the  early  hours  of  one  of  God’s  great  days. 
That  is  our  priceless  privilege.  “Today,  if  ye  will  hear  His  voice,  harden  not 
your  hearts.”  For  the  spirit  of  God  cries  to  us  as  to  the  people  of  God  ages 
ago,  “Awake,  awake;  put  on  thy  strength,  O Zion.  Put  on  thy  beautiful 
garments,  O Jerusalem.  Shake  thyself  from  the  dust.  For  the  hour  is  come 
that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified.”  Amen! 

13 


Sun  Yat  Sen  and  family  in  front  of  door  of  church  at  Tsingtau,  China,  with  local 
Christian  leaders.  He  preached  in  the  church  on  Sunday,  refusing  invitations  to  dine  on 
that  day  with  prominent  business  men  in  the  City  of  Tsingtau. 


NEW  CHINA  RECOGNIZED  By  The  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT 

On  May  2nd,  1913,  Mr.  Edward  T.  Williams  delivered  to  President 
Yuan-Shih-Kai,  at  the  Winter  Palace,  Peking,  the  following  message  from 
President  Wilson : 

“The  Government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  having  abundantly  testified 
their  sympathy  with  the  people  of  China  upon  their  assumption  of  the  attributes  and  powers 
of  self-government,  deem  it  opportune  at  this  time,  when  the  representative  National 
Assembly  has  met  to  discharge  the  high  duty  of  setting  the  seal  of  full  accomplishment  upon 
the  aspirations  of  the  Chinese  people,  that  I extend  in  the  name  of  my  Government  and  my 
countrymen,  a greeting  of  welcome  to  the  new  China,  thus  entering  into  the  family  of  Nations. 

“In  taking  this  step  1 entertain  the  confident  hope  and  expectation  that  in  perfecting  a 
republican  form  of  Government  the  Chinese  Nation  will  attain  to  the  highest  degree  of  de- 
velopment and  well-being,  and  that  under  the  new  rule  all  the  established  obligations  of 
China  which  pass  to  the  Provisional  Government  will  in  turn  pass  to  and  be  observed  by 
the  Government  established  by  the  assembly.” 

To  which  Yuan-Shih-Kai  responded: 

“In  the  name  of  the  Republic  of  China,  1 thank  you  most  heartily  for  the  message  of 
recognition  which  you  have  sent  me  through  your  honored  representative  in  this  Capital, 
the  sentiments  of  amity  and  good  will  which  it  bespeaks.  The  expression  of  greeting  and 
welcome  which  it  conveys  at  once  testifies  to  the  American  spirit  of  mutual  helpfulness,  and 
adds  another  brilliant  page  to  the  history  of  seventy  years  of  uninterrupted  friendly  inter- 
course between  China  and  the  United  States. 

“Though  unfamiliar  with  the  republican  form  of  Government,  the  Chinese  people  are 
yet  fully  convinced  of  the  soundness  of  the  principle  which  underlies  it,  and  which  is  so 
luminously  represented  by  your  glorious  commonwealth.  The  sole  aim  of  the  Government 
which  they  have  established,  therefore,  is  and  will  be  to  preserve  this  form  of  Government, 
and  to  perfect  its  working  to  the  end  that  they  enjoy  its  unalloyed  blessings,  prosperity,  and 
happiness  within;  through  union  of  law  and  liberty  and  peace  and  friendship  without; 
through  the  faithful  execution  of  all  established  obligations.” 

No  such  opportunity  has  ever  been  given  to  the  Christian  Church  as 
now  confronts  it  in  the  Republic  of  China. 


Form  1994. 


June,  1913 


Reception  to  returning  missionaries,  March  13, 1913.  Lien  Chow  Christians. 
On  October  28, 1905,  four  missionaries  suffered  a martyr’s  death  at  Lien  Chow. 


